Military Urban Legends

[Haggis]

One story I heard quite a bit was that in the build-up to Op DESERT STORM, the US offered to equip 4CMBG with first generation M1 Abrahms, M2 Bradleys, HMMVWs, etc...all we had to do was fly the troops to Saudi and the Yanks would have a whole brigade's worth of kit waiting for them.

Confirmed or Busted?

I believe the plan was called "CONPLAN BROADSWORD".  I've heard this story as well and it was also picked up by the MSM in the mid-nineties.

 

[Staff Weenie]

Trying to find the exact treaty info & what is/isn't true - but I had heard that part of the reason for some of the US offers of M1s etc was that various International Treaties (i.e. Treaty On Conventional Armed Forces in Europe) limited the number of MBTs/AFVs that each side could have. So, as the US starts to introduce the new M1A1, they need to ditch their older version so they don't exceed the treaty limits. And why not send them cheap to an ally - that creates unit/commonality of eqpt in NATO, probably of doctrine too. And best of all for the US - it creates an economic boost in the provision of spare parts....

There's probably more truth and less legend in the whole thing then.

 

[Gunner98]

I believe the plan was called "CONPLAN BROADSWORD".  I've heard this story as well and it was also picked up by the MSM in the mid-nineties.

Maloney, Sean M. "Missed Opportunity: Operation Broadsword, 4 Brigade and the Gulf War, 1990-1991." Canadian Military History, 4 (Spring 1995), pp. 36-46.

http://www.wlu.ca/lcmsds/cmh/back%20issues/CMH/volume%204/Issue%201/Maloney%20-%20Missed%20Opportunity%20-%20Operation%20BROADSWORD,%204%20Brigade%20and%20the%20Gulf%20War,%201990-1991.pdf

Excerpt shared under Fair Dealing Section of Copyright Act.

"In fact, the Americans unofficially offered enough M-60A3s, M-2s and M-109A2s to equip and sustain a Canadian brigade group in the same way the Americans helped some of the gulf Cooperation Council countries (the M-60A3 offer was apparently changed to M-l Abrams tanks later). These vehicles were already in-theatre and it would have been relatively easy to deploy Canadian troops and small equipment by air. It takes less than two weeks to retrain on a new tank and this retraining would have been done concurrently in the operational desert environment."

 

[Greymatters]

Maloney, Sean M. "Missed Opportunity: Operation Broadsword, 4 Brigade and the Gulf War, 1990-1991." Canadian Military History, 4 (Spring 1995), pp. 36-46.

http://www.wlu.ca/lcmsds/cmh/back%20issues/CMH/volume%204/Issue%201/Maloney%20-%20Missed%20Opportunity%20-%20Operation%20BROADSWORD,%204%20Brigade%20and%20the%20Gulf%20War,%201990-1991.pdf

Excerpt shared under Fair Dealing Section of Copyright Act.

"In fact, the Americans unofficially offered enough M-60A3s, M-2s and M-109A2s to equip and sustain a Canadian brigade group in the same way the Americans helped some of the gulf Cooperation Council countries (the M-60A3 offer was apparently changed to M-l Abrams tanks later). These vehicles were already in-theatre and it would have been relatively easy to deploy Canadian troops and small equipment by air. It takes less than two weeks to retrain on a new tank and this retraining would have been done concurrently in the operational desert environment." 

Unfotunately, actual boots on the ground, even in armor, wasnt a high priority for the government then...

 

[FormerHorseGuard]

I was reading the various posts here and thought I would post about a lost cat dozer.
True story, but not military  related. My dad worked at a pulp mill in for 37 years and now retired. The mill has since closed.
They  had a huge wood chip pile. They  would push chips around with very large Cat dozers, they had D9s for a while. One guy parked his cat and went for meal break. He came back and his Cat was missing. The company thought  the Cat was stolen and they had the Quebec Provincal Police and the guards at the mill looking for it. They  never found during the searches.

Years later they  were  moving the piles another Cat Driver hit a hard object that  made him kiss the glass from being driven out of his seat. He found the missing Cat, it had been buried under the chip pile. It was missing for 7 years. I guess other places also lose equipment by  being buried.


I know I opened up an old post but thought it in line as other posts here buried  tanks, This would fit right in

 

[daftandbarmy]

"There is something buried at GR 123456 in the CFB Gagetown training area"

Well, we buried a brick there... Brian Brick to be precise, but I've heard other stories....

 

[George Wallace]

It is an intersection now, but before they did the "Grid realignment" there used to be a house there.  I remember that from teaching map reading to QL3 Armd in the 80's.